LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE PALMS Nebraska Avenue Palm Harbor, Florida (727)

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1 WEEKLY ATTENDANCE & OFFERING November 1: 107 $ November 8: 126 $ November 15: 133 $ November 22: 127 $ November 29: 140 $ December 6: 137 $ December 13: 184 $ December 20: 151 $ December 27: 103 $ LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE PALMS 2250 Nebraska Avenue Palm Harbor, Florida (727) Church Office lcop2006@verizon.net Pastor Greg s lcoppastor@gmail.com December 24: 83 4pm Combined Total 181 7pm $ Needed weekly to meet out financial obligations: $5, Your generosity as God s people is a blessing to our church and beyond. Thank you for your giving. Be sure to visit our webpage We are a Welcoming Congregation. All people, regardless of age, color, ethnic origin, marital status (single, married, divorced, separated, widowed, partnered), differently abled, sexual orientation, or gender identity are welcome to join us and together we can grow. From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2016 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #40982.

2 Rev. Greg Hager Pastor Kathy Bawel Minister of Music Synodical Deacons - Bruce Anderson, Donna Barabba, Karl Bawel, Christopher Gustafson, Jack Keiler Much ministry in daily life is done by unpaid members of the congregation, often without recognition, who see their service as a response to God. We thank them for their dedication. Welcome to Lutheran Church of the Palms. The Order for Worship is in the bulletin and the hymns are found in the Hymnal. We welcome to Holy Communion everyone who believes in the words of Jesus, given and shed for you. As we give praises to our Lord this morning we are gifted with everyone s presence. This is the Lord s Day, let us rejoice and be glad in it. If you need to step out of worship, please feel free to use the chapel near the Nebraska Avenue door. There is a monitor in there for you to view the service - simply follow the instructions to turn it on and off. MINISTERS FOR SUNDAY JANUARY 3 Ushers. Don Malott, Joan Holmes, Carol Reisinger, Sharon Cilles Acolyte...Faithful Servant Reader......Sunday School Altar Guild..Violet Rupnaraine Deacon....Bruce Anderson Assisting Minister...Nadia Henneman Buildings Opening..Don Malott Buildings Closing.....Kline Grogan Transportation..... John Gustafson WELCOME GUESTS We invite you to return. Please sign the Guest Register and a Visitor Card from the pew. If you would like to be recognized, please wear the Visitor name tag. REGULAR WORSHIPERS Remember to greet those whom you don t know before greeting friends. WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS are found on the bulletin boards in the Narthex and in the Fellowship Hall. MINISTERS FOR SUNDAY JANUARY 10 Ushers. Scott Bauch, Karen Skiratko Derick & Violet Rupnaraine Acolyte...Faithful Servant Reader Bonnie Henneman Altar Guild..Violet Rupnaraine Deacon....Christopher Gustafson Assisting Minister...Michael Diroma Buildings Opening.. Ann Brunk Buildings Closing....Scott Bauch Transportation......Larry & Sue Langeloh Second Sunday of Christmas January 3, 2016

3 SENDING BLESSING May the Word that Mary brought to birth carry you into new and abundant life. ON THE BULLETIN BOARDS If you have announcements, concerns or cares, please see the Deacon in the Church Office by 9:45am. May the Word that Joseph cradled in his arms enfold you with love and strength. May the Word that angels proclaimed in song bring harmony to our world. And the blessing of almighty God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. CHORAL CLOSING HYMN 290 Go Tell It on the Mountain DISMISSAL Go in peace. Christ is with you. Thanks be to God. Pick up your 2016 Offering Envelopes and 2016 Church Directory in the Narthex We are all stewards and caretakers of the gifts of God Sewing Group every Tuesday at 9:30am Morning Prayers every Thursday at 9am in the Chapel Sunday Mornings in January-Adult Bible Study-9am 1st & 2nd Corinthians Women s Breakfast-January 9th at 9am Jan 10-Special Epiphany Worship- arrival of the Three Kings and pot luck dinner Confirmation Classes January 10th &17th at 6:30pm New Member Sunday-January 17th Game Night January 23rd 6pm Annual Congregational Meeting-January 24th after worship Remember Church of the Palms in your Will Send cards, gifts, words of encouragement etc. to Intern Pastor Karl Bawel th St. S.E. Owatonna, MN Flowers are given today by Rachel in honor of Elva Malott s birthday. Everyone is invited to coffee hour after our service. If you are interested in hosting our coffee hour, the sign-up sheet is on the table in Fellowship Hall.

4 Congregational responses are in bold print. Preludes/Silent Meditation CHORAL OPENING GATHERING CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Word made flesh, the Lord and giver of life. Let us come into the light of Christ, confessing our need for God s mercy. Silence is kept for reflection. God of peace, we confess that we are not at peace with others or with ourselves. We bring to you all that tears us apart: discord in our families, violence in our world, our own conflicted hearts. In your mercy, mend us. Reconnect us to one another and to you. Let peace reign over all the earth, through the Prince of peace, our Savior Jesus Christ. In the Word who has come to dwell with us, God has given us grace upon grace: forgiveness that is stronger than our sins, love that can heal every broken heart. Hear this word of God s pardon and peace: in the name of + Jesus our Savior, you are free from all your sins. Rise, shine, for your light has come. Please Stand When giving the bread and cup the communion ministers say: The Body of Christ given for you. The Blood of Christ shed for you. The response is Communion is received by dipping the bread into the wine. Gluten free is available. HYMNS DURING DISTRIBUTION: 270, 286 PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Please Stand We give you thanks, O God, that in this bread and cup of Christ s very life, you give us food for our journey. As you led the magi by a star, as you brought the holy family home again, guide us on the way unfolding before us. Wherever we go, may our lives proclaim good news of great joy in Jesus Christ our Lord. SENDING OF COMMUNION O God, whose grace and truth are revealed in the Word-made-flesh, bless those who go forth to share your word and sacrament with those who are unable to worship with us. Nourish and strengthen those who receive this holy communion, that through the body and blood of your Son all may rejoice at his birth and in his presence among us now and forever. HYMN 275 Angels, from the Realms of Glory

5 LORD S PRAYER Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit Let us pray as Jesus taught us; Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. GREETING The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you. KYRIE INVITATION TO COMMUNION Please Be Seated The mystery hidden for the ages is revealed for us in this meal. Come, behold and receive your God.

6 HYMN OF PRAISE THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLE Holy God, Creator of all and Source of life, at the birth of time your word brought light into the world. In the fullness of time, you sent your Word, born of Mary, to shine in our darkness and to make us your daughters and sons. In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. Remembering, therefore, his birth and life among us, his death and resurrection, we await his coming again when all things will be restored in him. By your Spirit bless us and this bread and cup, that, held and nourished by you, we may live as your children, shining with the light of your Son. Through him all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy Church, both now and forever. Amen

7 THE GREAT THANKSGIVING Let us pray, PRAYER OF THE DAY Almighty God, you have filled all the earth with the light of your incarnate Word. By your grace empower us to reflect your light in all that we do, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Please be seated..we praise your name and join their unending hymn First Reading Jeremiah 31: Thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel. 8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. 9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. 10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock. 11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. 12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. 13 Then

8 shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. 14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the Lord. The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God. Psalm 147:12-20 PEACE The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you. The presiding minister and the assembly greet each other in the peace of the risen Christ. CHORAL ANTHEM MEAL THE OFFERING As the ushers bring the offering forward, the congregation stands and sings: 12 Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, 13 who has strengthened the bars of your gates and has blessed your chil- dren within you. 14 God has established peace on your borders and satisfies you with the finest wheat. 15 God sends out a command to the earth, a word that runs very swiftly. R 16 God gives snow like wool, scattering frost like ashes. 17 God scatters hail like bread crumbs. Who can stand a- gainst God s cold? 18 The Lord sends forth the word and melts them; the wind blows, and the waters flow. 19 God declares the word to Jacob, statutes and judg- ments to Israel. 20 The Lord has not done so to any other nation; they do not know God s judgments. Hallelujah! R Second Reading Ephesians 1: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus OFFERING PRAYER Let us pray the offering prayer as one voice. Good and loving God, we rejoice in the birth of Jesus, who came among the poor to bring the riches of your grace. As you have blessed us with your gifts, let them be blessing for others. With the trees of the field, with all earth and heaven, we shout for joy at the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

9 PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Rejoicing with all the faithful, let us pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need. A brief silence. Let us pray for the church throughout the world; for bishops, pastors, ministers of word and service, and all other leaders; for teachers and missionaries; for the newly baptized and those preparing for baptism. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For coastlands and mountains, rivers and deserts, prairies and valleys; for wilderness and cities, lakes and oceans; for farmlands and pastures, forests and rangelands; and for orchards, vineyards, and gardens. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For those who live in the north and the south, the east and the west; for all who work for peace; for those whose safety is threatened by warfare; and for immigrants and refugees. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For those who are hungry; for those who live with disabilities; for those who fear what the future holds for them; for those who grieve; and for all who are sick (especially). Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For this assembly; for council members and all other leaders; for those who help us learn from our past and plan for the future; and for all whose faithful stewardship sustains this congregation s ministry. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God s own people, to the praise of his glory. The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Please Stand Here other intercessions may be offered. With thanksgiving, we remember all who have died (especially) and those who have pointed us toward the light of Christ and the truth of your love. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Pondering the mystery of your love, we offer our prayers in the name of Christ, the Word made flesh.

10 GOSPEL John 1:1-18 The Holy Gospel According to John. SERMON Please be seated. HYMN 298 (vs 1-4) The Bells of Christmas Please Stand 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father s only son, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified to him and cried out, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me. 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father s heart, who has made him known. The gospel of the Lord. In Christ, you have heard the word of faith, the gospel of salvation. We believe in him and are marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. Living together in trust and hope we confess our faith. NICENE CREED We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.